Volunteer for Basic Income News

Basic Income News, BIEN’s news service, provides a much needed source of just-the-facts news reporting by knowledgeable writers. If you are interested in volunteering with our news team, please do the following:

1. Read this statement of BIEN’s goals and strategy for Basic Income News.

If you share the goals and vision of Basic Income News and are willing to work hard, we’ll try our best to find a position that matches your skills. We will follow up by email and schedule an initial meeting, usually on Skype, to further discuss your interests and abilities as well as Basic Income News.

(Please note that, although we aim to reply to all applications within a few days, the time at which we can begin training depends on the availability of trainers and the volume of applicants. At times, all senior editors are busy training other volunteers, and there may be a delay of a few weeks before training can begin.)

Here are some of the tasks and skills Basic Income News always needs:

Skills needed for everything we do:

We need people who share the goals of BIEN and Basic Income News, and who are willing to learn and follow our system and house style.

• Just-the-facts news reporting: This is the most important and time-consuming job we have. It consists of writing just-the-facts news stories based on leads provided by others. We need many people to do it.

Skills: good ability to write in the English language; good ability to find and verify information based on leads; willingness to learn Basic Income News’s style, goals, and strategy; good knowledge of Basic Income or a willingness to learn. It’s helpful but not essential to have a good grasp of languages other than English.

We also accept one-time submissions of just-the-facts news articles.

If you have an individual just-the-facts piece you’ve written and would like us publish, first check that it is similar in style and content to the kind of just-the-facts pieces we’ve published. If so, email a copy of it to our editor-in-chief, André Coelho (ascmenow@gmail.com), and he’ll tell you whether we can post it.

• “Easy” just-the-facts reporting: Basic Income News’s “easy” just-the-fact posts require less extensive research, writing, and background knowledge than our typical news stories. They often involve writing summaries of articles and audio/video content on basic income (which sometimes amounts to little more than cutting and pasting content provided by publishers and authors). Other “easy” just-the-fact reports include announcements of upcoming basic income events, typically based directly from information on event listings elsewhere on the web.

Skills: ability to read and write in English and a willingness to learn about Basic Income. If you are interested in writing about Basic Income, but don’t know a lot about it, this is a great way to start.

• What if I want to write opinion pieces? Yes, although the bulk of Basic Income News‘s output consists of just-the-facts news and updates, we do need volunteers to write opinion pieces. We welcome opinion pieces for or against Basic Income or any type or aspect of Basic Income.

Opinion pieces are published on a one-at-a-time basis. If you have an idea for an opinion piece, send a one-paragraph pitch to our features editor, Tyler Prochazka (tyler.prochazka@yahoo.com) or complete this form. (Note: the piece has to be directly about Basic Income.)

• News Research: We need people who are willing and able to follow the Basic Income movement to find news leads for other editors to write about.

Skills: ability to find information about Basic Income through the Internet, social or professional networks, or other resources; ability to read English (other languages a plus); willingness to learn about the kind of leads that are useful to Basic Income News.

Note: If you would like to make a one-time submission of a news lead, complete the form here.

• Proofreading and copyediting: This involves reading content written by other editors with an eye towards correcting typos, suggesting improvements in grammar and clarity, and making sure that articles adhere to the house style.

Skills: good grasp of the English language, attention to detail, good writing ability.

• Fact-checking: This involves verifying factual content in news stories written by other editors.

Skills: good research ability, good knowledge of Basic Income and the Basic Income movement or a willingness to learn.

• Formatting: This involves posting pieces written by others on BIEN’s system. It often involves formatting pieces to improve their appearance on our website, which might include the selection of featured images (Creative Commons or used by special permission).

Skills: minimal grasp of English and a willingness to learn our house style and system; experience in WordPress a plus.

Skills: minimal grasp of English, willingness to learn our system and to follow our social media strategy; experience in social media a plus.

• Training: This involves trainings others to do any of the tasks on this list.

Skills: good ability to read and write English (other languages a plus), experience doing the task(s) you’re training people to do (so you’ll have to start doing that task first), and good interpersonal skills.

• Translation: Our news editors often need assistance translating relevant content from other websites and publications. We would also love to have our news stories translated into other languages.

Skills: good writing ability in English and at least one other language, willingness to learn our system and style, and willingness write in English until we’re confident in your ability to translate in other languages.

• Other (please describe): This requires having an idea of something we should be doing, convincing us we should be doing it, and learning our system well enough that we’re confident that you can do it.

Volunteer Application Form

Name*

FirstLast

Email*

Website

Location

CityState / Province / RegionCountry

Have you read the Mission and Vision statement for Basic Income News?*

How much do you think you can work per week once you’re fully trained?

How much can you work during the training period, starting now?*

Skills and Experience

Do you have experience in any of the following areas?

(Check as many as relevant.)

Editing / Proofreading

Writing

Journalism

Blogging

Social Media

Translation (List languages below)

Content Knowledge (Note below)

What languages do you speak?

Do you have any specific areas of interest or expertise?

Are you knowledgeable in the Basic Income movement in a particular region?

Is there a particular topic related to Basic Income that interests you?

If so, note it here.

OPTIONAL: What sort of tasks most interest you?

See the list above for further descriptions and brief summaries of required skills.

Writing just-the-facts news stories based on leads provided by others.

Writing summaries of articles and audio/video content on basic income.

Writing announcements of upcoming basic income events.

Finding news leads for other editors to write about.

Proofreading and copyediting news stories written by others.

Verifying factual content in news stories by other editors.

Formatting Basic Income News posts in WordPress.

Sharing Basic Income News stories on BIEN's social media.

Other (please describe in Statement of Interest below).

Statement of Interest*

Why are you interested in volunteering for Basic Income News? Please describe your interest in this position, including any relevant experience and expertise.

Your answer can be short: just tell us why you’re interested and what you want to do. As long as you share our goals and you’re willing to work with our strategy, we’ll try to find something you can do that you want to do.

Remember too that you can learn a lot as you volunteer, which will eventually give you the ability to perform new tasks you might like even more.

OPTIONAL: Additional documentation (CV, resume, etc.)

We do not expect you to send a CV or resume, or any other additional information beyond that requested in the above form. However, if you think it would be useful for us to know more details about your background and experience, you may choose to attach one here.